A culinary tourist in my own back yard.

Tag Archives: loaf

While Thanksgiving is long past here in Canada already, it is just around the corner in the U.S. With my American readers in mind, and giving a nod to the creeping chill that is wrapping itself around folks in many areas, I’ve put together a compilation of a few recipes featuring seasonal foods that are abundant right now. Enjoy!

Desire to learn

I didn’t grow up cooking. While I have memories of my mother and her mother canning and cooking together, and my paternal grandmother’s kitchen being a constant source of culinary goodness, I have no memory of helping. Or being taught any of the techniques or recipes I witnessed.

I want to say that things have changed for my kids. That they’ve been my kitchen helpers daily since they could hold a wooden spoon. But that’s not true. At all. Having never learned to cook at the side of a patient teacher, it’s been a struggle for me to find the patience to teach my own kids. Continue reading →

Spring has sprung

I think it’s safe to assume that winter has finally left (don’t look at me like that – we saw snow as recently as mid-April). Our crocuses and other bulbs, along with the deciduous shrubs and the raspberry canes, are thumbing their figurative noses at the chill that’s lingering and pretending the bright sun is actually doing something.

The chives are always the first to pop up. While the oregano and thyme hold back, demanding more heat than the world around them is giving right now, the chives are up and ready to party. My daughter snacks on them whenever she’s outside, so it’s good that they’re so willingly prolific. She spends much of early spring stinking of their oniony goodness. Continue reading →

Like this:

The art of food?

My daughter, who is 5 years old, knows what she likes (what 5 year old doesn’t?). And when she sees art that speaks to her, she lets us know. At 3, she was drawn to a piece by a talented young photographer in our church. A luscious composition of raspberries and chocolate cake on a vibrant blueish background. We bought it for her and it will eventually hang in her room alongside her latest acquisition. Another blue background, this time a painting done by our Pastor’s wife, which I couldn’t resist playing with as a the backdrop for this photo…

Like this:

As predicted, the weather has cooled significantly. It’s wonderful. It was 10C when I got up this morning and I welcomed the ever so slight nip in the air. Yesterday was the first day in… I don’t know how long that not one of our ceiling fans was on (we have one in nearly every room). It’s pre-Autumn, and I’m loving it.

In honour of the weather and how it inspires me, I went looking for a loaf recipe using Autumn spices and Chai for our homeschool moms night. No pumpkin, though. The lone specimen we’ve managed to grow isn’t quite ready yet (though on inspection it’s closer than I thought). I should just keep tins of pumpkin puree on hand, I think.Continue reading →